All Forum Posts by: Jeff Hornberger

A couple more things to ask them is how often they perform scheduled walk throughs. (Very very important) and what does their contract say about cancelling the agreement. (Is just a simple notice and time needed or do you have to pay a fee) A couple thoughts on the minimum charge. Ofcourse it's personal preference. Some people hire managers so that they can improve their quality of life and not have to deal with the day to day and don't want to be called unless it's over $500 others fall into the landlord game because they can't sell it and it's the only option. These two owners would see things very different. If your looking to buy several properties then another way to avoid the issue is to be careful on which properties you invest into. Sometimes the properties with the best cap rate will be money suckers. Because their priced accordingly but you pay in the long run on maintenance expenses. Other times properties that cost a little more are in better condition and thus require less maintenance. Be selective on the property! The most important thing to me is you need to be able to trust your property manager. It has to be a relationship where you know he or she is going to make the right call for you and not take advantage of you. There are plenty of property managers out there that are crooks and others that care about their clients seeing a return. You'll be able to tell when you interview them, or atleast within the first 3-6 months. My thought is why do you need a property manager if you want to be called on every little expense. You have to be able to trust them or you'll eventually get frustrated your paying anyone to do it. If your not happy that they didn't tell you something, express your concern and if it doesn't improve then can them! Good luck, buy right!!

Hi Jacob, I'll list a few things to watch out for: 1. References (always call their references) 2. Ask to review their pm agreement and leases they expect tenants to sign. Ask if you can have them add clauses you feel are necessary. 3. Ask them what their criteria is for screening tenants 4. How long have they been managing properties. How many properties, and how many employees are running the show. Sometimes one man wrecking crews can over promise and under deliver. 5. Do they perform their own condition reports prior to move in or do they have the tenants do them. Are pictures taken. Tenants tend to be lazy when they have to do the reports so if you can't prove the condition prior to move in good luck getting compensated on the move out. 6. Do they offer discounts if they manage multiple properties. 7. What is the cost to "lease up" a tenant. 8. How do they advertise 9. Why did they get into the business. Is it something they have a passion for or are they just doing the day to day grind 10. Do they provide financial statements every month. Most do. 11. How many vacancies do they have and on avg how long does it take to fill them. 12. Do they offer in house maintenance or do they sub everything out. Do you get to see those invoices or do they mark them up. That should get you a good idea and get some good dialogue going to help you determine a good fit for you. Good luck!